“Earlier this week, the Apple TV was sold out across many Web sites. Now, it’s not even available on many shopping sites or stores,” Don Reisinger reports for CNET.
“So, what’s going on? All signs point to an Apple TV refresh,” Reisinger reports.
Reisinger reports, “In many cases, Apple allows the stock of its products to deplete before it launches new versions. The company hasn’t launched a new Apple TV since September 2010, and with more sophisticated set-top boxes on store shelves, the timing seems right for Apple to deliver a new version.”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Brawndo Drinker” for the heads up.]
To coincide with the newest version of bluetooth that will allow AirPlay directly from the new iPad 3 coming next month, without the need for WiFi. This should eliminate the streaming latency and be a precursor to the forthcoming ‘real’ integrated LCD/AppleTV later this year.
I’ve longed for the day to use an AppleTV device that I could connect in conference rooms to display presentations directly to the screen without going through WiFi. Our users could then load up their iPad/iPhones with their slides and use them instead of a computer.
If that’s all that TV is doing, then put a separate access point in there to have a separate wireless only for that purpose. Then bandwidth isn’t an issue.
I long for the same thing, I want to take the ATV and use Airplay anywhere. Do you know about Wifi direct ?
Apple supported the push for Wifi direct standardization and it is the solution I wish Apple would implement in ATV and current iPhones/iPads etc.. Same idea as you’re thinking and there’s no reason you should have latency over such a high-banwidth and direct connection.
I’m still rockin’ the 1st gen Apple TV… I like the hard drive.
Come to think of it, I haven’t really been using the hard drive all that much recently. Hmmm.
“…with more sophisticated set-top boxes on store shelves…”
Yes, there may be “set-top boxes” with more buttons and flashy things and keyboards, most of the differences are probably related to software, which Apple has been steadily updating. Tangent: I’m grateful that Apple had the vision not to make this a full “set-top box”, which are now really under-set boxes.
This could simply be a hardware refresh to make things snappier. It is possible that the current hardware would not support Siri, so that would be a bigger change. But I would say that is not a change to keep up with other boxes – it is an innovation to make them compete with Apple TV.
As of 1045AM Central it is listed as in stock at the US Apple Store. Out of New Stock on Amazon.
I bet it will be thinner. Thin enough to mount on the back of a super thin LED TV
I call BS!! on this rumor… I was at Best Buy today and they had at least 20 Apple TVs on the shelves..
I’ve been searching for a replacement Apple TV remote this week, and the aTV2 is sold out everywhere here… Best Buy, Future Shop, London Drugs.
Hardly BS. May be in some Best Buy stores but sold out on BestBuy.com. Also gone online at Mac standbys like Mac Connection, at CDW, J&R, Target.com. A couple still have it (Abt.com and MacMall) but probably just burning through last of their stock.